Playable characters (story mode)

Characters (story mode)

Level number

The Sky Citadel (スカイ・シタデル,Sukai Shitaderu?) is the eighth area of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. It is a colossal and marvelous city from the Ancients, located high up in the skies above Bygone Island, held suspended amongst the clouds through mysterious technology. Virtually untouched by time, it is an archaeological marvel.

In the quest for the final Chaos Crystal, Team Sonic journeyed to the Sky Citadel to find the Sky Crystal. However, they were forced by Lyric to give their Crystals to him in exchange for Sonic's life. Not beaten though, Team Sonic pursued Lyric through the floating city as it collapse to stop his plans to destroy the world.

Contents

Overview

The Sky Citadel is in its simplicity an enormous city of the Ancients located high up in the sky amidst the upper cloud layers. It is surrounded by nothing but clouds with a slightly violet tint and obscures any view of the earth's surface below, though the sky can still be spotted above.

The Sky Citadel is comprised solely by buildings suspended in the air by unspecified blue orbs on their bottoms. As such, the area is devoid of any solid ground. The whole city is made of pale rock and its architecture heavily features pillars, overarching openings, curves and dome-shaped rooftops. Structures here include temple-like buildings, several stories tall walls, floating platforms, ring-shaped roofs and interwoven roads, most of which is held up by pillars suspended in the air. Adorning the surfaces are golden rims and the Ancients' runes and markings. Additionally, floating around the city alone are cylinder-shaped towers and long arch bridges of immense size. The city also has a little flora in form of planted trees and bushes.

Though ancient, the Sky Citadel is in fairly good condition, the only wear being cracks in the walls, some rubble and a few collapsed roads. Some towers show more extensive damage, with large vines growing out of crumbling walls.

Story

A thousand years ago, the Ancients hid away the Sky Crystal, one of their own Chaos Crystals, away in the Sky Citadel so that Lyric would not be able to find it.

When Team Sonic tried to reach the Sky Citadel through the Seaside Harbor Light to get the Sky Crystal, only Knuckles and Amy got through it as it was only designed to take two. After journeying through the city, Sonic and Tails managed to reach them in the Tornado. Soon after, the team found the Sky Crystal, but as they claimed it, Destruction Troops surrounded them. Lyric appeared and explained that he let them find the Crystals so he could then take them from them. Sonic refused to hand them over, but Lyric threatened Tails, Knuckles, and Amy that if they did not, Sonic would die. Not wanting to risk Sonic's life, they relinquished the Crystals. As Amy demanded Lyric to keep his promise however, Lyric told her that he had a better idea and hed his robots shoot Sonic down with several large energy blasts.

As Lyric left with the Crystals, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy dug through the rubble, fearing the worst. To their relief, Sonic survived the onslaught, and the group took off to stop Lyric. With the Sky Citadel collapsing around them from Lyric's robot army, Team Sonic reached their only means of escaping: the Tornado. Though a chuck of rock broke the road as they got ready to leave, causing the Tornado to fall, Tails got the plane flying and team began heading towards Lyric's Lair to stop the villain once and for all.

Gameplay

In the Sky Citadel, the player travels through the entirety of the floating city. Like the other areas in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the Sky Citadel includes a speed level section, where the player runs down a long path with speed-enhancinggimmicks while avoiding hazardous obstacles, and as well slower-paced areas for exploration and combat. It also features the normal puzzles the player must solve with the Enerbeam mechanic and Buttons. Unique to the Sky Citadel, there are as well laser beam puzzles where off-course lasers must be lead into nearby receptors, most of the time through several cannon-like links which can either be moved into receiving the laser or rotated to bend its direction. Both actions can be done by attacking the links. The lasers can also be blocked by obstacles which must be destroyed.

Gimmicks aside, the Sky Citadel holds several environmental hazard. Amidst roads of rectangular platforms, there are those marked with horizontal lines that instantly crumble over bottomless pits when stepped on. On both floors, walls, roofs and even gimmicks there are rotating poles with spikes which cover their entire section and cause damage upon touch. Similarly, there are spiked balls on both walls and roofs amidst gimmicks, some of which are moving, and swinging pendulums with spikes blocking the paths. Additionally, Knuckles' climbable surface can have damage-inducing spikes that sprout out in intervals and Amy's Balance Beams can fall apart or be crushed by pendulums. Also, in the level's extensive Ener-Rail sections there will be spiked pendulums and collapsing towers.

Description

In the beginning, the player's objective is to find the Sky Crystal. At the start, the player must go through a door on the opening path by unblocking a laser. This leads into a bigger area where the player has to solve three laser beam puzzles, located on the platforms above both sides of the area and in the middle. This opens a door leading to a dangerous passage towards a more open area. Here, the path splits in two. The player must go down each path (the order of the roads does not matter) and solve two laser beam puzzles along these paths, which will reveal Bounce Pads in the middle of the area leading to the Crystal chamber. Once in the chamber, another laser beam puzzle must be solved on the platforms above to unlock the Crystal. This will trigger the cutscene where Lyric takes the Crystal.

At this point, the player's new objective is to escape the Sky Citadel. Ride the Ener-Rails in front of the current arena to a platform which exit is blocked by a sealed door. The player must switch to Amy and use the Balance Beams on the left to get on the other side of the door and break the pink locks to let the others through. Now clear out the enemies and one of Lyric's ships will fly in. Switch to Tails, board the ship and send Buddy Bot into each of the sockets on three glass domes which will cause the ship to crash. It is important to time it correctly, or Buddy Bot will be smashed by spiked poles inside the domes, and to clear out nearby enemies, or Buddy Bot will go after them.

After the ship has fallen, ride an Ener-Rail to another blocked door. Switch to Knuckles and climb up to the two platform surrounding the area where the Enerbeam must be used to open the door's locks. Ride the Ener-Rail on the other side of the door to some platforms and use Sonic to go down a path to the left leading to a Button. Pressing the Button will lead to a speed level section which the player must take. Once the player arrives at the Tornado, the level is completed and the player is taken to Lyric's Lair.

Collectibles

Trivia

When Team Sonic hand over all their Chaos Crystals to Lyric who then flies away with them, the Shock Crystal and the red Crystal are not shown among them. Also, in the first scene where Lyric leaves with the Crystals, he is shown having two Verdant Crystals.